Aspergillus nidulans stcP encodes an o-methyltransferase that is required for sterigmatocystin biosynthesis

The Aspergillus nidulans stcP gene was previously identified as a transcribed region associated with a cluster of genes proposed to be involved in sterigmatocystin biosynthesis (D. W. Brown, J.-H. Yu, H. S. Kelkar, M. Fernandes, T. C. Nesbitt, N. P. Keller, T. H. Adams, and T. J. Leonard, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci, USA 93:1418-1422, 1996), stcP was predicted to encode a methyltransferase responsible for conversion of demethylsterigmatocystin to sterigmatocystin. Here we demonstrate that disruption of stcP in A, nidulans results in strains that accumulate demethylsterigmatocystin.